Cat replacement at dealership or muffler shop?

[RedMan]

I've have the p430 code for a while and now have a multiple misfire code that came up yesterday and the vehicle runs very rough.
I've heard conflicting things about taking it to the dealership and taking it to a muffler shop to get the cat replaced. Any insight is greatly appreciated!

 

[marctronixx]

what is your concerns actually? ive seen many members of these vehicles on different web forums get cats replaced at 3rd party shops-- even using different 3rd party parts. ive seen people on youtube replace their own cats..

 

[RedMan]

what is your concerns actually? ive seen many members of these vehicles on different web forums get cats replaced at 3rd party shops-- even using different 3rd party parts. ive seen people on youtube replace their own cats..

Thanks Marctronixx, first my father owned a qx56 same year and had a similar issue and took it to a muffler shop and had the cats replaced only to get a call from the shop saying they ran into a issue and the computer would need to be updated by infiniti and the vehicle was running better but not as well as it should. I also rember seeing somewhere on here where others have had a similar experience as my fathers. I know technology is constantly changing and there's a possibility that shops have the right tools to update the qx56. I've owned my qx56 for almost 2 years and I love it and have had the p0430 code for almost the entirety of my ownership and it has run fine until now.

 

[marctronixx]

i understand your concerns.

i mean, im one of those types who , when i had my qx ( 9 years --never had any issues with it-- daily driver) i would take it to infiniti to get the oil changed, so yeah i would take it to infiniti always because 1, i get a paper trail of all the maintenance done, and 2, well the company made the car so they would know best how to fix it, especially since they work on the same brands all day.

but the reality is , we dont live in a perfect world, and you can go to a dealer and they can have incompetent staff ( ive read the horror stories on these forums ) screw up things, or half do something that requires a return visit...

but in my opinion, replacing cats/exhaust systems are not that specialized that you need to go to the dealer, and if you go to a reputable exhaust shop, where they also do the same thing everyday, you are in good hands there as well.

also lest we forget, forums are a magnet for people who have issues. normally you dont see people sign up on a forum just to tell you how great their experience was at this place or that, or how great their car is - they just drive and move on about their day. its easy to think there are more issues with something that not, when all you see are people complaining or searching for something that broke.

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[RedMan]

Thanks Marctronixx. That dose make alot of sense. I personally get stuck for hours reading these forums for ideas and preparing myself for what might come up with my vehicle.
Got it in the shop this morning ended up being two ignition coils bad and all 8 spark plugs seemed to be original, plug 6 had a huge crack and the mechanic thinks this also contributed to the ignition coils going bad. Got all of it replaced. I did get them to price me on getting the driver side cat replaced and that ended up being $3,300. I'll probably get that done later down the road.

 

[marctronixx]

hey brotha im glad you got it all sorted out.

 

[primov8]

The $3300 quote to replace a single bank cat converter/exhaust manifold from that shop is worse than a dealership. The OE exhaust manifold itself can be bought online for around $1100.

 

[RedMan]

The $3300 quote to replace a single bank cat converter/exhaust manifold from that shop is worse than a dealership. The OE exhaust manifold itself can be bought online for around $1100.

Yes I agree 3,300 sounds steep to me as well. Good news is no CEL since the plugs and coil packs were replaced. Also I'm now getting 17mpg combined vs 14!

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